Completion of Developmental Sequence: Illinois

Percentage of Illinois Community College students who completed developmental course requirements within two years

What Is Measured?

Percentage of Illinois Community College students who completed the developmental course requirements within two years

Who Is Counted?

Students entering community colleges in Illinois for the first time in fall 2006

What It Tells Us

Some 66 percent of Illinois Community College students who enrolled in developmental courses during their first academic year completed the developmental requirements in those subjects within two years. Some 67 percent of students who entered directly from high school completed developmental requirements within two years.

Why It's Important

Most beginning community college students must complete at least one developmental education course in mathematics or English (reading, writing, or both), and many must complete multiple courses in one or more subjects. Completing the highest-level developmental course in a subject is the final precollege milestone and is often required to transfer to a four-year institution or to earn a certificate or associate degree.

About the Data

First-time students: include students with no prior postsecondary experience except for college credits earned during high school or in the summer before enrolling in the fall.

Directly from high school: defined as students age 18 or 19 in states without linked K–12 and postsecondary data systems.